


Time Shifts

by 19_empty_vacancies



Category: The Mighty Boosh (TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, M/M, Season/Series 01, doing night shift isn't the same without each other, zoo times
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-25
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2019-03-23 20:15:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13795491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/19_empty_vacancies/pseuds/19_empty_vacancies
Summary: Being rostered onto differing shifts means there are steady routines in place.





	Time Shifts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KINGOFMODS](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KINGOFMODS/gifts).



The flat was still pretty dark when Howard stepped through the door and shook off his uniform jacket; only the faintest hint of grey light was peaking around the seams of the window blinds, but it was enough to give their furniture shadowy outlines. Enough that he wouldn’t trip on the corner of the coffee table but not enough to avoid slamming his arm on the corner of their standing cabinet. Hard. The paint supplies inside rattled like a stampede of wildebeest was coming through and Howard swore vividly.

From deeper in the flat he heard Vince laugh at him. Rubbing his eyes, Howard sighed; it was too late for this and all he wanted was to sleep. Stepping _around_ the cabinet, Howard dropped onto the sofa and began the task of detangling his laces and removing his boots, dropping them to the side to collect later.

Pushing himself off the sofa with a groan, Howard absently unbuttoned his shirt as he ambled through the flat and into the softly lit bedroom. The door leading into the bathroom was cracked open, warm light spilling a stripe onto the beige carpet while Vince’s singing floated out over the sounds of his daily hair routine.

On the bed his pajamas lay folded, slightly rumpled in the corner fold and with the faint smell of coconut shampoo; same as they have every day since he started night shift. And just like every day since starting night shift, Howard smiled as he changed, the smell of coconut enveloping him.

Surrounded by the comforts of home, the weariness that has been niggling at him since he stepped off the tube hit Howard at full force, a wave of dizzy colours filling his vision as he stumbled to the bathroom to get ready for sleep. Pushing the door open wider, Howard watched Vince finish straightening a back section of hair before dropping his arm and shaking it out slightly.

“Alright, ‘Oward?” Vince’s sleepy blue eyes met his in the mirror and he quirked a smile.

“Alright, Vince.”

As had become the standard for the two of them this past month, Howard stepped behind Vince to get to the sink and Vince made room at the counter for Howard to go about his before bed ritual. Well, it’s not much of a ritual, it’s just brushing his teeth and applying the creams Vince nudges over to him in a specific order.

Rubbing the last of the subtly sweet-smelling cream into his forehead, Howard dropped onto the toilet lid to watch Vince finish his hair, the second to final step in both of their routines. Relaxing back against the tank, Howard felt the tension from the night shift drain away with every sweep of Vince’s straightener.

“How much longer do you think Fossil will have us doing this?” The question was slightly muffled thanks to his arm being in the way, but Howard’s become adept at Vince-straightening-and-talking after years of knowing him and answers easily.

“It’ll probably go on for another week, he’s reaching his stage of forgetting what he’s pissed about.”

Vince snorted. “Dunno why he’s mad at us, he’s the one who lost the animals.”

Howard shrugged, “Convenience? Who knows, the last thing I ever want is to be able to understand his reas-” Howard yawned-“reasoning.”

“I don’t like this, working the day shifts without you. It’s well boring.”

“Night shift isn’t much better, Joey keeps trying to get me to visit those geriatrics he befriended with him, spends half the night talking them up.” Somewhere in their conversation, Howard must’ve closed his eyes, the soft clack of the straighteners being placed on the counter coming as a surprise.

Vince was standing just shy of the space between his knees when Howard opened his eyes, a quirk to his lips as he looked down at him. Shaking his perfectly styled head, Vince held out his hands and helped Howard to his feet before turning him around and guiding him back to the bedroom.

Here, the two started the final stage of their routines. Howard dropped onto the side of the bed where the blanket was flipped back, sighing as his body was surrounded by soft sheets while Vince stepped over to the closet to get his uniform.  

Howard’s eyes had closed again, lulled down by the peace he felt as the sound Vince getting dressed filled the small room. The mattress dipping at the foot had his eyes opening to see Vince hunch over to put on his shoes, pale skin flashing as his jacket and shirt rode up.

Howard waited, knowing the final step to this dance was coming up fast now. But instead of standing up from the bed, Vince flopped back on the covers and shuffled up the bed until they were face to face. Howard blinked, eyes beginning to get cloudy, and shifted his head until their noses were just about touching.

“I’m only rostered on for a half day,” Vince said, his voice dropping down into something akin to a whisper. “I’ll be home before you wake up.”

Howard smiled, “Looking forward to it, little man.”

Vince’s eyes crinkled with his smile before he leaned in, dropping a soft kiss on Howard’s nose. “’ll be home at 2.” At Howard’s nod, Vince pushed himself up and rolled off the bed, walking around to pick up his phone from where it was charging on the floor.

Sleep was swallowing Howard whole when he felt the kiss pressed to the back of his head and his response to Vince calling out “love you, big man” was a grunt lost in the sea of coconut smelling sheets.


End file.
